Racing- World Cup in Holland

don’t ask why i have a picture of sheep on the front here... i just wanted to put them in since i did not have any other good pictures for the time being.

wow. today was a hard day. one of the most frustrating races that i have ever raced in terms of fighting for position... and i am mentally exhausted.

it was hard today- racing 130 km of flat, fast riding will definitely take it out of you. click on racing to get the race report... i will write it tonight... but some non-race report things to talk about.

we had a big bummer today- lauren broke her hand. she got hooked by another rider who took her into a metal fence. fortunately, SHE is ok... but her hand is broken and so is her bike. she has really had a bad luck streak- just about everything that CAN go wrong... has gone wrong for her. between her bike arriving broken, her luggage getting lost, her getting tangled in the first crash at flanders... and now this. it sucks and i am so sorry for her. but i will certainly giver her this- that girl is tough. very very tough. she is frustrated and bummed- but not rattled. she just moves on. it is impressive and inspiring to see how well she handles this.

today was frustrating in that i have never had a race that is SO hard to move up in. the roads were just plugged with riders and you would fight and fight and fight to move into position- only to have a group of 30+ riders swarm up alongside you and send you sailing to the dungeons of the peloton. it was mentally exhausting... i did find that today, i LOVED the cobbles. absolutely LOVED them. first off- they were one of the few sections on the course that pruned the field down a bit. 180 riders is not fun to ride with- since the just all GET IN THE WAY! but also- it was the ONLY section that i could take a mental break. when you go into the cobbles, if you are in good position and around strong riders, you can just focus on maintaining your position. you just have to follow wheels. i put my hands on the tops of the bars, let my bike bounce away merrily underneath me, and just stay where i am. i am not worried about moving up. i had to do that earlier. so, you get a break. you get to just hang where you are. provided you are not having riders gapping off in front of you and making you chase (THAT is hard), it is just a nice break. i confess that i even got to enjoy the scenery for a few quick moments during the first cobbled section.

the rest of the race? it is a mental battle- constantly trying to find nooks and crannies in front of you that you can squeeze yourself into to gain precious positioning... fining gutters that are not being ridden in to shoot up the side... judging if there is enough room on the right or left where you can skirt around that rider in front of you who has been driving you nuts for the last 10k. then there is the gamble where you moved to the right, thinking that the waves would flow up there, only to have the flow of the peloton change to have the left side move forward. there is so much focus involved that the few moments when you can give you mind a break are wonderful.

we were lucky on the weather- with gorgeous skies and warm air. it was actually HOT when we were racing! thankfully, i was able to grab two bottles in the feedzone and kathryn brought me a bottle from the car. as it was- at the end of the race, my braids were soaked and the ends crispy with dried salt.

ok, now off to write the race report. next race? TOMORROW! i have no idea how we will do ANOTHER one... but we will!